Ringtail
by eclipsed heart
Summary: Carmelita has dedicated her life to finding and arresting Sly Cooper, but when she finally has him, things get complicated. How does she tell a man with no memory that he's a wanted criminal? She can't. Instead, she lies to him. This is why. Oneshot.


Wow. So this is my 35th fanfiction (cue distant applause) in five years. It's also my first first Sly Cooper fic, and actually my first fic for any video game. Therefore, I hope it's decent. Basically, it's some of Sly and Carmelita's encounters from her perspective. Enjoy!

* * *

Ringtail

It was at the police academy that Carmelita Montoya Fox first heard of the Cooper Clan. She was enchanted by the magnificent stories of their cunning and thievery, even slightly enraged. How could this family have escaped justice for so many years? How was it that no one had been able to stop them?

So young Carmelita decided that since no one else had been able to stop them, she would be the one to bring the Cooper Clan to justice.

She worked hard, fighting her way up in the ranks of the police corps. And then, it happened. The Cooper case landed on her desk, and she grasped it, swearing she would find the last Cooper, a young man named Sly.

Carmelita found him, alright. But she didn't count on him being a nice guy. Weren't thieves supposed to be vile, cruel beings who stopped at nothing to get whatever priceless gem or piece of art they were after? Why was Sly so charming, even kind at times? He would save her life, even though it made his job much harder. He would help her.

It annoyed her to no end.

Sly would help her, and she would owe him. A cop owing a criminal. How pathetic.

Meeting the infamous Sly Cooper only made Carmelita want to catch him more, to see his smug face behind bars. There was just something that she couldn't resist about him and his crimes, even though he always managed to be one step ahead of her. She followed him around the globe, vowing over and over that she would find him.

And then, it happened. Sure, she had to help him out, and she didn't have the entire Cooper Gang. No, Sly cut a deal with her: He would go without a fight if she let his friends walk free. Carmelita knew that if Cooper resisted imprisonment, he'd probably succeed and escape. She was not going to take that chance. So she let Murray and Bentley go. After all, Sly was the prize she was after. She took him into custody and loaded him into a chopper, bound for his downfall.

It proved to be a long flight. A very long flight. That's how Inspector Fox, determined cop, found herself talking to Sly Cooper, master thief extraordinaire. And smiling. And laughing. And having a good time. Carmelita and Sly had never really had such a lengthy conversation before. Sure, they'd had the typical cop to thief exchanges, but never anything like this.

And, strangely, throughout the entire flight, Carmelita couldn't stop thinking about how well she and Sly had worked together to take down Clock-La. And Clockwerk before. Of course, Carmelita thinking about Clockwerk was always a bittersweet thing. Sly had cut a deal with her then, too. A ten-second head start. Carmelita remembered standing there, pointing her gun at Sly, counting as he just stood there, unmoving.

And then, he kissed her. That kiss was the most ambivalent moment of Carmelita's life. All at once, she'd felt shocked and surprised and delighted and loved and confused and ashamed and…happy. She didn't like to admit it, but kissing Sly had made her happy. Extremely, unforgettably happy. She let herself and all her instincts and training drown in that kiss.

Until, of course, the moment was broken when Carmelita heard the handcuffs snapping shut. She thought at first that she had instinctively slapped the cuffs onto Sly's wrists, or that maybe he was choosing to get arrested by putting the cuffs on himself.

But when Carmelita opened her eyes, Sly was gone, and she was handcuffed to a railing.

Carmelita had had a lot of explaining to do when her unit arrived to find the cop cuffed and the thief long gone. She said she'd been tricked, nothing more.

And sitting in that chopper, with the one and only Sly Cooper before her, Carmelita remembered that kiss. And, not for the first time, she wondered what would happen if she kissed Sly again.

Carmelita never did get to find out, because Sly was sly, and he managed to orchestrate a getaway right under her nose. Sly Cooper had escaped incarceration once again, and Carmelita Fox was left alone once again.

Later on, Carmelita would blame his smile. His stupid, smug, distracting smile. His handsome smile.

What choice did she have? She would keep tailing him, one step behind, lurking in his shadow, until she outsmarted him and his gang. She would catch him.

After a stint in China, during which Sly managed to give her the slip more than once, Carmelita's supervisor pulled her aside. He was very blunt and harsh, asking her why, after years and years, Sly Cooper was still not behind bars, and why, after she'd been after him for years and years, she had not yet caught him. Carmelita couldn't find a satisfactory answer, and her supervisor almost took her off the Cooper case. But what did Carmelita have without Cooper? She'd based her life around finding him; what would she do without him?

Needless to say, it wasn't the most convenient time for Carmelita to remember that kiss.

After much begging and pleading, and some groveling, she was given one more chance. Nothing more. She would follow the Cooper Gang to Kaine Island, and if she didn't find and arrest Sly for his crimes, she would be off the case, permanently.

But that almost-suspension brought to mind another question: What if she successfully arrested him? What then? She wouldn't have anyone to chase after. Her life would be meaningless. Who was she if she wasn't after Sly Cooper?

All these thoughts were bouncing through her head as she traveled to Kaine Island. She wasn't sure what Sly would steal here, and as she pondered that, she realized something extraordinary.

Sly Cooper, master thief and the youngest, latest, and only living member of the Cooper Clan, was good. He was really, really good. He hadn't only succeeded in stealing priceless gems and paintings, Clockwerk parts and expensive chocolates. No, Sly really was a master, because somewhere along the way, he had stolen Carmelita's heart. And she hadn't even realized it until now.

She needed him in her life, somehow.

And so, arriving at Dr. M's Kaine Island, she was thrilled that this time it was her turn to save his life. She would keep Sly alive, even if it was only so that she could visit him in prison or keep chasing him around the world, as a cop or as a friend. She would save Sly.

Then the moment of truth, of choice, came. Sly turned on his charm, full blast. Carmelita kept her guard up.

Carmelita did not expect what happened next.

Before she knew it, Dr. M shot at her. She stood her ground, frozen in shock and thinking, _Ringtail._ She barely had time to see Sly leaping forward, to hear him shouting, "Not her!"

She most definitely was unable to stop him from taking the shot intended for her.

In that instant, Carmelita's whole outlook changed. Maybe Sly really hadn't stolen her heart. Maybe she had given it to him. And she didn't want anyone else to have it. Sure, she was a cop and he was a thief, but there had to be some way it could work, professional differences aside. Carmelita was willing to try, and she only hoped that Sly was willing, too. If he was alive, she would try her best. And if he wasn't…Carmelita didn't know what she would do if Sly had died for her.

That whole shift took less than a second, and then Carmelita was shooting at Dr. M, angry and hurt and desperate. This demented man had just shot Sly. This demented man would pay.

As soon as she possibly could, Carmelita ran to Sly's side, Dr. M incapacitated for the time being. Carmelita shook Sly awake, hoping beyond all hope that he was still alive. And by some miracle, he was. He opened his eyes and she was so relieved, she almost kissed him right there. Then Sly asked the most amazing question:

"Who am I?"

What was she supposed to say to that? "Oh, you're the infamous Sly Cooper, and you're under arrest." He didn't even remember his identity; there was no way he'd remember his crimes, numerous as they might be.

So Carmelita said the first comprehensible words that flitted through her brain. "You're my partner. Constable Cooper."

Sly smiled. It was so good to see him smile.

Together, Carmelita and Sly left Kaine Island. Sly came willingly, without handcuffs or deals. He left that island as Carmelita's equal.

This would be interesting to explain to her supervisor.

* * *

REVIEWS are wonderful and always appreciated.


End file.
